Intruder Murders

Coffee County, AL

George White

Feb 27, 1985 (Enterprise)

Both George W. White and his wife Charlene were shot multiple
times by a masked gunman. George survived but Charlene died. Sixteen
months later George was charged with the murder of his wife. Following a
trial that was later characterized as a mockery and a sham, George was
convicted and sentenced to life in prison. In 1989, the conviction was
overturned after George spent over 27 months in prison. In 1992, the charge
was dismissed after proof of George's innocence surfaced. George is a
co-founder of Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and
served on the board of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation from 1994
to 1998. (Journey
of Hope)
(Justice: Denied) [6/05]

Maricopa County, AZ

Debra Milke

Dec 2, 1989 (Tempe)

Broward County, FL

Robert Burkell

Nov 22, 2003 (Tamarac)

Robert Burkell was convicted of the murder of 81-year-old
Charles Bertheas. Bertheas, a French national, rented a room inside
Burkell's home at 9107 NW 72 Court, in Tamarac, FL. Burkell told
investigators he discovered Bertheas lying on the floor inside his room and
called 911. Tamarac Fire Rescue responded to the scene and determined
Bertheas was dead. Bertheas had been bludgeoned with repeated blows to
the head, but no weapon was ever identified or found. His death was
ruled a homicide due to blunt trauma. Bertheas was found on a Sunday
afternoon. It was determined that he died approximately 18 hours
before, placing his murder on the previous night. Bertheas was last
seen around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evening.Read More by Clicking Here

Dade County, FL

Luis Carlos Arango

Mar 28, 1980

Luis Carlos Arango was sentenced to death for the murder of
Jario Posada. When police arrived at the murder scene in Arango's
apartment, Arango told them that three armed men had robbed them and shot
Posada. He said two of the bandits had fled out the kitchen door while
the third had jumped off the bedroom balcony. Other than Arango, there
were no eyewitnesses. Two guns were found in the apartment, one of
which was used to shoot Posada. Neither of them had Arango's
fingerprints on them. At trial, Arango took the stand and told his
story, but the prosecutor argued to the jury that while his story created
the possibility of a doubt, it did not create reasonable doubt, as it was
totally uncorroborated by any physical evidence.

However, there was corroborating physical evidence, but it was
withheld from the defense. When police conducted a search the day
after the murder, they found a cocked pistol and shell casings under the
bedroom balcony. The pistol had been purchased two days earlier and
was not registered to Arango. Because of this withheld evidence the
Florida Supreme Court vacated his conviction and Arango was released in
1986. (Brief) (82)
(5/83)
(9/83)
(84)
(85)
(86) [7/07]

Volusia County, FL

Virginia Larzelere

Mar 8, 1991 (Edgewater)

Virginia Larzelere was convicted of murdering her husband
Norman in their dental office. She was sentenced to death. An intruder had
robbed the office safe of gold coins, cash, and narcotic drugs and had shot
her husband through a closed waiting room door. (JD)

Cook County, IL

David Dowaliby

Sept 10, 1988 (Midlothian)

David Dowaliby was convicted of murdering his 7-year-old
stepdaughter, Jaclyn. Police initially assumed that the window,
through which an intruder had allegedly entered to abduct Jaclyn, had been
broken from the inside of their home. There was more broken glass on
the outside than on the inside but forensic analysis established that it had
been broken from the outside. During the investigation, Dowaliby and
his wife, Cynthia, had followed police advice not to talk to the press, but
such refusal had made them appear guilty.

At trial, for which both Dowaliby and his wife were charged
with first-degree murder, the prosecution presented a witness, with a
history of mental illness, who stated that he saw someone with a nose
structure resembling Dowaliby on the night the victim had disappeared and
near where her body was found five days later. This witness, Everett
Mann, made this identification from an unlighted parking lot 75 yards away
on a moonless night. The prosecution also presented 17 gruesome
autopsy photos that are disallowed in many jurisdictions because they serve
to prejudice a jury. The trial judge gave Dowaliby's wife a directed
verdict of acquittal, but the jury convicted Dowaliby.

Afterwards, in an interview, the jury forewoman said that fist
marks on the door of a bedroom were critical to the jury's decision to
convict Dowaliby. These marks appeared in one of the evidence photos,
but were never mentioned by either side. The jury concluded from these
marks that Dowaliby had a terrible temper. In fact, they had no
bearing on the case, as they had been present years earlier, before the
Dowalibys had moved into their home. The jury forewoman also said,
that if given the chance, the jury would have convicted Dowalibly's wife as
well.

An appeals court reversed Dowaliby's conviction in 1991, on
the grounds of insufficient evidence. The case came to a legal end in
1992 when the Illinois Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the
prosecution. The case is the subject of a book, Gone in the Night:
The Dowaliby Family's Encounter With Murder and the Law by Protess and
Warden (1993). (CWC) (American
Justice) [12/06]

Lawrence County, IL

Julie Rea

Oct 13, 1997

Julie Rea was convicted of stabbing to death her 10-year-old
son, Joel Kirkpatrick. Julie maintained that a masked intruder stabbed
her son. The intruder also left a bruise over her eye and an inch deep
gash on her arm. A physician noted that Julie's injuries, such as the
horizontal scrapes on her knees, did not appear to be self-inflicted. In escaping, the intruder ran through two sets of glass doors.

Despite the bloodbath found in her son's room, Julie was found
with no blood on her except for a small transfer pattern presumably caused
by her contact with the intruder. Her toilets, sinks, washer, and
dryer were found free of blood. A search of her septic tank and the
lines leading to it failed to reveal the presence of any blood. Her
ex-husband, Len Kirkpatrick, with whom Julie had a bitter divorce, had
recently gotten residential custody of Joel, because he remarried, allowing
Joel to have a two-parent home. The prosecution alleged that Julie's
thinking regarding custody was, “If I can't have him, nobody will.” Julie was not charged until three years after the murder. No new
evidence had surfaced after the initial investigation, but her ex-husband
and chief accuser had become a sheriff's deputy in a neighboring county. He had vowed in writing to “destroy her.”

After the case was featured on 20/20, serial killer
Tommy Lynn Sells confessed to the murder. Sells was a cautious killer
who liked to kill but learned to avoid danger to himself. He would
often kill sleeping victims, as awake victims were more dangerous. After a would-be adult victim sent him to the hospital for a week and to
prison for five years, he stuck exclusively to killing children. Sells
is also a suspect in the Texas intruder murders of Devon and Damon Routier. Their mother, Darlie Routier, has been sentenced to death for the murders. The state denied Sells confession, but the confession is reportedly too
accurate to be dismissed as coincidence. In 2004, Julie's conviction
was overturned because her prosecutor did not have the legal authority to
try her. She was acquitted on retrial in 2006. (ABC
News) (CWC)
[11/05]

Will County, IL

Kevin Fox

June 6, 2004 (Wilmington)

Kevin Fox was charged with the murder of his 3-year-old
daughter, Riley. Fox had confessed to the crime after a grueling
interrogation that lasted more than 14 hours. Riley had fallen asleep on
the living room couch, but was missing from her house the next morning. The
front door was open. She may have opened it herself and gone outside. There were no signs of forced entry. Riley was found later that day,
drowned in a creek four miles from her home. She had been sexually
assaulted. Her arms and mouth were bound with duct tape. Fox was released
after spending 8 months in jail. DNA tests failed to link him to the
crime. Fox and his wife were awarded $15.5 million from Will County in Dec.
2007. The County plans to appeal the award. (Chicago
Tribune) [4/08]

Jefferson Parish, LA

Douglas DiLosa

Sept 27, 1986 (Kenner)

Douglas A. DiLosa was convicted of the murder of his wife,
Glinda. When police arrived at DiLosa's condominium following a 911
call from his son, they found DiLosa tied up on the living room floor. His wife was found bound and strangled on a bed. DiLosa said he was
awakened about 3:30 a.m. to noises downstairs. When he investigated,
he discovered two black male intruders. The intruders him beat him
unconscious. When he recovered from his unconsciousness, he found
himself bound and the house in shambles. He called out to his son and
instructed him to dial 911. The crime occurred at Apartment 7-C,
Chardonnay Village Condominiums, 1500 West Esplanade Ave. in Kenner, LA.

In time, DiLosa was arrested for Glinda's murder based on an
alleged lack of evidence supporting his version of events. Investigators also discovered a possible motive. DiLosa was out of
work, his unemployment benefits were about to run out, a large payment was
near due on the condo, and his wife's life was insured for a substantial
sum. At trial the prosecution focused on the lack of evidence that any
other perpetrator besides DiLosa committed the crime. During his
closing argument, the prosecutor told the jury, “There was not one, not one
shred of black hair found in that residence.” And he also stated, “Did
you hear any evidence about any other houses that were hit that night?”

However, there was evidence supporting DiLosa's version of
events, but it was withheld from the defense: (1) Hair of a
non-Caucasian type was found on the rope around Glinda's neck and on the bed
where her body was discovered. (2) Fingerprints were found in the condo that
could not be positively identified. (3) An attempted break-in occurred
at a nearby condo. (4) A taxi driver had seen a car occupied by two
black men exit the condo complex at 5:45 a.m. The taxi driver said the
car's driver looked “tense,” faced straight ahead while gripping the
steering wheel, and was driving very slowly.

In 2002, the federal 5th Circuit Court overturned DiLosa's
conviction due to the withholding of evidence. It is not known if
DiLosa was retried, but a reference source lists DiLosa as having been
exonerated in 2003. (88)
(95)
(02)
(04)
[10/08]

Noxubee County, MS

Kennedy Brewer

May 3, 1992 (Brooksville)

Kennedy Brewer was sentenced to death for the rape and murder
of three-year-old Christine Jackson, the daughter of his live-in girlfriend. Christine had been taken from her home in the early morning hours and found
dumped in a creek. An intruder could have entered the home through a
broken window. Brewer was the boyfriend of Gloria Jackson, the
victim's mother. Christine had been sleeping on a makeshift pallet of
sofa cushions at the foot of the couple's bed. In the morning, the
couple discovered that Christine was gone. Two other children were
present in the home.Read More by Clicking Here

Christian County, MO

George Revelle

Sept 28, 1994

George S. Revelle, the CFO of Ozark Bank, was convicted of
murdering his wife, Lisa, at their home in Fremont Hills. Revelle told
authorities that intruders broke into their home and shot his wife in a
bungled extortion attempt. He was convicted because he had a $500,000
life insurance policy on his wife and an old letter in which she criticizes
him for being materialistic.

Five months into the investigation, the apparent murderers
sent a confession letter to police. They said they were fugitives living
outside the U.S. They stated George's stepbrother had originally approached
them about kidnapping George and forcing him to go to his bank so they could
rob it. The letter writers revealed the location of a pond where the murder
weapon was found. The prosecutor never investigated any of this evidence,
except to test the stamp on the letter envelope for Revelle's DNA.

Revelle's conviction was overturned in Nov. 1997 because an
appeal's court found that his wife's note should not have been allowed as
trial evidence. On retrial in Dec. 1998, Revelle was acquitted.
(Beyond the Yellow Ribbon)
(Archives)
[4/08]

Cumberland County, NC

Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald

Feb 17, 1970

(Federal Case) Army Captain Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted
of the murder of his wife Collette, 26, and the murders of two daughters,
Kimberly, 5, and Kristen, 2. According to MacDonald, he and his family were
attacked by intruders to their home at 544 Castle Drive in Fort Bragg, a
U.S. military base. MacDonald survived with wounds including a collapsed
lung. MacDonald was acquitted of the murders at a Ft. Bragg Army hearing
and probably would not have been tried again had he not angered the
prosecution by criticizing them during interviews on national TV. MacDonald's Army acquittal meant that he could not be court-martialed, but
he could still be tried in federal court and he was. Before his federal
trial MacDonald invited author Joe McGinniss on his defense team to write a
book and hopefully help to establish his factual innocence. At that trial
MacDonald was unfortunately convicted.Read More by Clicking Here

Cuyahoga County, OH

Dr. Sam Sheppard

July 4, 1954

After an intruder entered his home, and brutally murdered his
wife, Marilyn, Dr. Sam Sheppard was accused and convicted of the crime. The Sheppard home was in Bay Village on the shore of Lake Erie. Sheppard had an affair some months before and this was portrayed as a
motive. Sheppard had some wounds from the real assailant but the
prosecution claimed these were self-inflicted. Sheppard described the
assailant as a bushy haired man and other witnesses claimed to have seen
him. Although its creator denied it, the 1963 TV series, The
Fugitive, was widely thought to be based on this case, due to obvious
similarities.

Sheppard's defense was not allowed access to forensic evidence
prior to trial. When examined after trial, it found that Marilyn had
apparently bitten her assailant as one of her teeth was broken outward, and
that the killer must have been splattered with blood as the bedroom walls
were all splattered except for a spot that was shielded by the assailant's
body. Apart from a small spot, Sheppard had no blood on him, nor any
bite marks. Backswing blood spatter indicated the assailant swung his
weapon with his left hand, while Sheppard was right-handed. Appeals
based on this new evidence were denied. Eventually a young lawyer
named F. Lee Bailey got interested in the case, took it to the U.S. Supreme
Court, and had the conviction overturned. Sheppard was acquitted on
retrial in 1966, but died at age 46 in 1970. DNA tests in the 1990's
revealed the assailant was a mentally ill man who had once worked at the
Sheppard home. (American
Justice) [9/05]

York County, SC

Billy Wayne Cope

Nov 29, 2001 (Rock Hill)

Billy Wayne Cope, a white man, was charged with beating,
sexually assaulting, and murdering his 12-year-old daughter Amanda. Amanda died at her family's Rich Street home in Rock Hill. Police
suspected Cope, as there were no signs of forced entry to their home. After four days of interrogation while suffering from the stress of finding
his daughter dead, Cope confessed to the crime. Later DNA tests of the
semen found inside Amanda matched a black man, James Edward Sanders, who had
a history of break-ins involving sexual assaults. Sanders had moved
into Cope's neighborhood a few weeks before. Instead of dropping the
charges against Cope, police, not wanting to waste a coerced confession,
merely added a conspiracy charge, despite the fact that no connection was
established between Cope and Sanders.

As trial neared in 2004, Judge John C. Hayes III refused to
sever Cope's trial from that of Sanders and thereby prevented Cope's defense
from presenting evidence of Sanders' other crimes. Sanders, who was
released from prison before Amanda was killed, was charged with several York
County crimes, including break-ins and a sexual assault that occurred after
Amanda died. At the conclusion of the trial, both Cope and Sanders
were convicted of the crime.

The television news magazine
Dateline NBC later produced a two-hour report about the case which
Prosecutor Kevin Brackett called, “...a blatant, slanted, one-sided, hit
piece designed to make us look bad.” Brackett has since created a
website www.billywaynecope.com
in which he attempts to defend the conviction. (TruthInJustice) (The
Herald) [12/05]

Dallas County, TX

Darlie Routier

June 6, 1996 (Rowlett)

Darlie Routier and two of her sons were attacked by an
intruder in their Rowlett home at 5801 Eagle Drive. The two sons died. The
prosecution claimed the attack was staged and convicted Routier of murders. An investigator took steps to steer the investigation away from his son, who
is now in prison for other violent crimes. Prosecutors and the courts
continue to stonewall against turning over or testing evidence that will
prove her innocence. A book was written about the case entitled Media
Tried, Justice Denied by by Christopher Wayne Brown. (American
Justice) (JD#1) (JD#2)
(www.fordarlieroutier.org) (ODR)
[6/05]

Gray County, TX

Hank Skinner

Dec 31, 1993 (Pampa)

Henry Watkins Skinner, also known as Hank, was convicted of
bludgeoning to death his live-in girlfriend, Twila Busby, and stabbing to
death her two sons, Randy Busby and Scooter Caler. Hank was sentenced
to death. The murders occurred at 801 East Campbell Ave. in Pampa. Hank, then 31, had been drinking earlier in the evening and passed out after
taking codeine to which he was severely allergic. A friend, Howard
Mitchell, arrived to take Hank and Twila to a New Year's Eve Party at 9:30
p.m., but he could not rouse Hank.Read More by Clicking Here

Snohomish County, WA

Jerry Jones, Jr.

Dec 3, 1988 (Bothell)

Jerry Jones, Jr. was convicted of murdering his wife, Lee. An
intruder had entered his home and stabbed his wife at least 36 times. Jones
intercepted the intruder before he ran off, and in trying to take away the
intruder's knife, Jones cut tendons in his hand. Following the attack Jones
behaved strangely, having gone into shock. He gave 911 dispatchers his old
address where he lived for 5 years. The prosecution portrayed such behavior
as suspicious. A neighborhood boy is an alternate suspect, who lied about
his alibi and whose statements and later criminal record fully justify his
being regarded as a suspect. Jones's daughters fully support their father's
innocence in the murder of their mother. Jones's conviction was overturned
twice, but he acted as his own attorney at his third trial and was
reconvicted. (Justice:
Denied) (48
Hours) [11/05]